The free press organization demanded that the Libyan transitional government do everything in its power to guarantee the security of local and foreign media workers.

On 28 April, armed militiamen kidnapped Mahmoud Al-Farjani, correspondent for Al-Arabiya, seizing him in the Saudi-owned network's office, which lies across the street from the Foreign Ministry. He was covering a militia demonstration in favour of highly controversial legislation to ban from politics former senior officials who served deposed dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

Al-Farjani was held for seven hours. His kidnappers beat him repeatedly and threatened to kill him. Before the kidnapping, the journalist had already received numerous threats arising from his work.

At the same time, an Iraqi journalist and a Turkish technician for the IHA Turkish network were taken by another armed group, apparently one not linked to the militia involved in the Al-Farjani kidnapping. The two were released after several hours and were not mistreated.

That same day, armed militia members occupied the headquarters of the national television network, Al-Wataniya, for several hours.

On 22 April, Yousef Bargoum, a former journalist who directs public information for the civil registry in Benghazi, was kidnapped by armed militia after a radio broadcast on Al-Manar in which he disclosed obvious irregularities in municipal documents. Bargoum was held for three days. He was badly beaten and tortured with electrical shocks during the ordeal. He recounted the experience in an interview with journalist Mabrouka al-Masmari.

Bargoum was released on 25 April and immediately hospitalized. But he quickly left the hospital, fearing his life was in danger in an insecure setting.

Reporters Without Borders reiterated the important role that media workers play in a democratic society, emphasizing that freedom of information is critical to the establishment of a new, democratic, transparent and pluralist Libya.

The organization cited the UN Human Rights Committee, which noted in its “General comment No. 34” in 2011: “Freedom of opinion and freedom of expression are indispensable conditions for the full development of the person. They are essential for any society. The two freedoms are closely related, with freedom of expression providing the vehicle for the exchange and development of opinions.”

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

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A draft constitution containing some protections for media freedom was published in October, but it appeared unlikely to move forward until political actors could implement an agreement to end the civil war and form a unity government.

Freedom Forum monitored FoE during the elections as it concerns citizens' freedom of expression through the ballot box. Therefore, any action creating an unfavourable atmosphere for the elections is also a violation of freedom of expression.

A recent HKJA survey indicates a slight rise in the Hong Kong Press Freedom Index after two consecutive years of decline. Journalists on the ground believe that the situation has worsened in 2016, compared to the year before. HKJA chairperson Sham Yee-lan explained that the slight increase in the Press Freedom Index was likely to be related to the emergence of online media, which has led to some diversity in the industry.

This report presents the findings of a three-month study focused on mapping, observing and analysing online harassment of journalists in Hungary. The study aimed to identify the types of harassment journalists are subject to, which journalists are typically harassed, who the harassers are, and how journalists cope with harassment.

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Many journalists increasingly practice self-censorship, fearing retribution from security forces, military intelligence, and militant groups. Media outlets in 2016 remained under pressure to avoid reporting on or criticising human rights violations in counterterrorism operations. The Taliban and other armed groups threatened media outlets and targeted journalists and activists for their work.

Chinese authorities' enforced disappearance of critics from Hong Kong and other countries in 2016 garnered headlines globally. Beijing's decision to interfere in a politically charged court case in Hong Kong in November undermined judicial independence and the territory's autonomy. In the ethnic minority regions of Xinjiang and Tibet, Beijing continued its highly repressive rule, curtailing political activity and many peaceful expressions of ethnic and religious identity.

Bangladesh witnessed a spate of violent attacks against secular bloggers, academics, gay rights activists, foreigners, and members of religious minorities in 2016. Several laws were proposed during the year to increase restrictions on freedom of expression.

Freedom Forum observed a relatively peaceful atmosphere for the media this year (2016) with a significant decline in the number of press freedom violations. FF recorded only 25 incidents of press freedom violations during 2016 versus 83 in 2015.

Pakistan is among the countries that do not properly investigate and prosecute crimes against media professionals. Because of the near absolute level of impunity, most of the people who attack, injure or even murder media journalists in Pakistan remain free.

2016 is a highly significant year for Cambodian democracy. Looking back, 2016 marks 25 years since the conclusion of the Paris Peace Agreements (the “Paris Agreements”), which brought an end to 20 years of conflict in the Kingdom of Cambodia (“Cambodia”) and laid the framework for a political settlement based on human rights and liberal democracy; looking forward, 2016 marks the unofficial start of the lead‐up to the local and national elections in 2017 and 2018, respectively, as political actors across the spectrum begin to position themselves.

In the 27 cases of journalists murdered for their work in India since CPJ began keeping records in 1992, there have been no convictions. More than half of those killed reported regularly on corruption. The cases of Jagendra Singh, Umesh Rajput, and Akshay Singh, who died between 2011 and 2015, show how small-town journalists face greater risk in their reporting than those from larger outlets, and how India's culture of impunity is leaving the country's press vulnerable to threats and attacks

Latin America is, by far, the most dangerous region of the world for environmental human rights defenders (EHRDs). The lack of effective guarantees of human rights protection in Latin American States has created this dire situation.

Violence against journalists in Europe increased in the second quarter of 2016, reports submitted to Index on Censorship’s Mapping Media Freedom platform show, as a government crackdown in Turkey intensified and protests turned violent in countries from France to Finland.

With the environment now recognized as a major challenge for humankind, Reporters Without Borders believes that particular attention should be paid to the journalists who take greats risk to investigate sensitive, environment-related subjects. The report highlights a steady deterioration in the situation for environmental reporters, who are increasingly exposed to many kinds of pressure, threats and violence.

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